I Will
by Rioko Kimura
Summary: Misaki and Sesshomaru were childhood friends, but a slipup changed all that. Now Sesshomaru hates her, but when an agent of Loathe comes can she regain his trust? Part three in four part series. I know it sounds sucky, but please read if you're bored.
1. Chapter 1

_Many years ago . . . _

"Sesshikichi," a voice called in a loud whisper. "Sesshikichi."

Sesshomaru was a young dog demon with golden eyes and long, white hair. He had purple markings on his face and a crescent moon on his forehead. He looked out of his window and saw a little cat demon beckoning him to come down. The cat had green eyes and pale blue hair done up in two unraveling buns. There was a small star on her forehead.

"Shh!" Sesshomaru hissed and pressed a finger to his lips. "Father will hear us and then he'll yell at you again."

"Oops!" The cat demon's hands flew to her mouth. "Sorry."

Sesshomaru leapt onto a nearby tree and climbed down. He grabbed the girl's hand.

"Let's go to the forest, Misakichi!"

Sesshomaru and Misaki were friends. No one wanted them to be friends because they were of different races. Both of their families often said, "Cats and dogs don't mingle." However, they were too young to understand why their families hated each other. They just enjoyed each other's company and had fun playing.

"Let's play tag!" Misaki suggested.

"Okay."

That innocent game would change their fate forever.

Misaki looked around and spotted Sesshomaru near an open well.

"I've got you!" she said and ran towards him.

"No you don't!" Sesshomaru said and ran away from her.

Misaki chased him around the well. She almost had him, but he jumped onto the well's edge.

"You can't get me now!" Sesshomaru taunted and stuck out his tongue at Misaki.

Misaki balled her hands into fists and frowned. "You're such a jerk!" she cried and reached out to grab him.

Laughing, Sesshomaru took a step back. He realized a little too late that he had been standing on the edge of a well.

Misaki gasped. "Sesshikichi!" she cried and reached down to grab his hand.

Sesshomaru hung onto Misaki's hand. "Don't let go!" he cried with fear.

The well looked very deep and neither one could see the bottom of it. Misaki struggled to pull Sesshomaru up. She grabbed his arm with both hands and pulled

"I'm not letting you go! Don't worry, I won't let go!"

Sesshomaru felt something tugging at his kimono sleeve. He looked down and gasped with horror. Several black hands were grabbing him.

"Misakichi, help me!"

Misaki gasped. Her eyes grew wide and she let out a scream. Without meaning to, she let go of Sesshomaru's arm and took several steps back.

"Misakichi!"

That was the last thing Misaki heard. She ran back to the well and saw nothing but pitch darkness.

"Sesshikichi?" she asked fearfully.

No one responded.

"Sesshikichi!"

Sesshomaru had disappeared into the dark, mysterious well. Misaki took several steps back and fell on her bottom. Trembling, she stood up and ran away from the sight.

* * *

_Present time . . . _

Ekaterina walked slid open the door of her room and walked outside. It was cold. Everything seemed white with the snow that had fallen last night. A pure, unsullied color.

"It snowed an awful lot," the woman mussed to herself.

Ekaterina was a slight woman with long, snow-white hair and dark eyes that stood out from her pale face. Hugging her shawl and shivering, she walked down the hallway to the room of her permanent guest.

"Misaki-chan?"

Inside the room, Misaki rolled over and pulled the covers over her head. "Not now, Ekaterina-san," she mumbled. "Too sleepy."

Ekaterina knew Misaki didn't like the cold, but she didn't want her to stay in bed all day. She slid open the door of the cat demon's room and the cold came in. Misaki shivered and curled up into a ball beneath the covers. The woman walked into the room and knelt in front of Misaki and shook her shoulder.

"Get up, Misaki-chan. We have things to do."

Misaki rolled to the other side to face Ekaterina and opened her eyes a little. "Sleepy," she mumbled, yawned, and closed her eyes.

Ekaterina sighed. She stood up, grabbed the covers, and yanked them off Misaki. Misaki gasped at the sudden coldness that swept over her warm body.

"Get up," Ekaterina said as she folded the blankets.

Misaki sat up and rubbed her tired eyes with the white sleeve of her yukata. "Who's the idiot that's coming today?"

"Not idiot. Idiots. They're the ones seeking the Shikon Jewel."

Misaki ran a hand through her long hair. "What does that have to do with me?" she mumbled with a sulky mouth.

"They might know the whereabouts of your friend."

Misaki's eyes widened for a moment. "Do you really think so?"

Ekaterina shrugged. She hadn't meant to say that because she didn't know it was true, but was willing to do anything to get Misaki out of her room. Still, she felt guilty. It wasn't a good idea to toy with Misaki's feelings like that.

"Yes, I do think so. Now get dressed. The travelers are coming."

_Inuyasha__ belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. Misaki and Ekaterina are the only characters I own, this fanfic has nothing to do with the series, this fanfic is an alternate universe, and blah, blah, blah. Please remember that some adjustments have been made and this is purely for entertainment and . . . yeah, I have no life. The only thing that's accepted is constructive criticism. So if you're going to say this fanfic sucks, give me a reason and an example. After that, vent all you want. Obviously you have no life if you do nothing but rant. This is part three in a four-part series. _


	2. The Clairvoyant One and the Cat Demon

"I'm cold!" Shippo exclaimed and huddled, shivering, against Kagome's chest.

"Yeah, you already said that twenty times, Shippo," Inuyasha said, annoyed. "Bear with it. It's not like we're not cold."

"Perhaps we should stop somewhere and sleep," Miroku suggested.

Inuyasha scoffed. "Yeah, let's stop in the middle of nowhere and wake up frozen. That's real smart, Miroku."

Kagome gazed up at the darkening sky. "It is getting pretty late."

They had been walking for a few hours after leaving the inn where they had gotten some information from. Apparently, there was supposed to be a woman with amazing powers of clairvoyance living in the secluded part of the Awayuki Forest. This woman was rumored to know about several mysterious objects and charms. Thinking she might know something about the Shikon Jewel, the group set out to find her.

The Awayuki Forest had several dead trees. They seemed completely lifeless for there was not even the slightest wind to stir their skeletal, brown branches. And because of the snowfall, Inuyasha and the others had a difficult time walking around. After Shippo had nearly disappeared beneath the snow twice, Kagome decided to carry him. Kilala was also being carried by Sango.

Sango noticed smoke coming from something in the distance. She pointed at it and said, "I think there's a house over there."

After walking a bit more, they found themselves staring at a long, wooden house. The main entrance had two covered walkways. The one on the left led to a longer building, while the one on the right led to three smaller buildings. There was smoke coming from one of the buildings, presumably the kitchen.

The door of the main entrance slid open and a pale woman came out. Her white hair was tied back with a black cord and she wore a black tomesode kimono with a golden obi. She stared at each one of them for a moment and smiled.

"Please come in and get away from the cold," the woman said pleasantly.

Silently, they followed her inside and down the right walkway to one of the buildings next to the smoky one.

"Please sit," she said and left the room.

The room was warm, probably because of the fire in the next room. Each of them sat on the floor with a sigh of relief.

"Are you still cold, Shippo?" Kagome asked.

"No," Shippo said and jumped down from Kagome's arms.

Miroku frowned a little. "There's a demonic aura in this house."

Just then, a tall, slender young woman walked into the room. She had long, pale blue hair tied back in a braid with a bit of cloth, green eyes, and a tiny star-shaped mark on her forehead. Her kimono with its long, furisode sleeves was pale lavender with white flower petals on it and the obi was pink. At first glance, she appeared human, but a second glance proved otherwise. Humans didn't have pointy ears and incredibly sharp fingernails.

"Waagh! It's a demon!" Shippo cried and jumped back in Kagome's arms.

Before anyone could do anything, the white-haired woman walked back inside and laughed.

"Oh, don't worry about Misaki. She won't bite."

Misaki smiled and bowed politely. "Welcome to our home. My name is Misaki."

"She doesn't seem that hostile," Miroku whispered to Inuyasha. "What do you think?"

"I get the feeling this is a trap," Inuyasha hissed back. "Keep your guard up."

Misaki heard these comments and frowned slightly. _If you want to see hostile, all you have to do is speak a little louder. _

"Now, now, enough," the woman said and turned to Misaki. "Go make the tea, please."

Misaki nodded respectfully and turned around in such a way that she managed to whap both Miroku and Inuyasha in the face with her long sleeves.

Inuyasha grabbed his face and raised his fist. "Hey, come back here!"

Misaki turned briefly, stuck out his tongue at him, and left.

Inuyasha was about to stand up and run after her, but Kagome grabbed his arm and pulled him back down.

"My name is Ekaterina," the woman said as she smoothed her kimono and sat down in front of them. "Now, I believe you have come seeking something because no one comes to see a little old lady and a cat demon for no particular reason."

"Ekaterina-sama, we---" Miroku started.

Just then, Misaki walked back in with a tray with some bowls of tea. She carefully set the tray down on the floor and stared at the guests. Her gaze fell on Inuyasha and stayed on him for a very long time.

"What're you looking at?" Inuyasha demanded.

Misaki frowned thoughtfully and she walked towards Inuyasha. "How can---I mean, you do look a little like him, but you seem half-human. He was a full demon, but you're not." Misaki grabbed one of Inuyasha's ears with her thumb and pointer finger and pulled.

"OW! Leggo!" Inuyasha shouted and slapped Misaki's hand away.

Misaki scowled. "There's no way you can be related to Sesshomaru!" she shouted. "He isn't crude like you!"

Everyone seemed to gasp at the same time and a tense silence followed. Kagome broke the silence.

"You know Sesshomaru?" she asked with plain confusion.

Misaki turned to Kagome. "He was my dear, sweet friend from childhood."

Several jaws hit the floor before the whole room suddenly erupted with questions.

"Sesshomaru was your _friend_!"

"You were friends with that bastard!"

"Sweet? Are you talking about Sesshomaru!"

"Sesshomaru had a childhood?"

Misaki stood in the middle of the circle that Kagome, Miroku, Inuyasha, and Sango had formed around her.

"Um, yes, he was my friend," she answered, a bit flustered. She glared at Inuyasha and asked, "Hey, why'd you call him a 'bastard'?"

Inuyasha scowled. "Because he is one!"

Ekaterina clapped her hands to get their attention and everyone turned to her.

"Please stop this," she said gravely. "Your tea is getting cold."

Everyone silently returned to their spots. Misaki sat beside Ekaterina, frowning a little. Before Ekaterina could speak, she piped up, "How do _you_ know him?"

Kagome smiled. "He's Inuyasha's brother," she said and pointed at the scowling half-demon.

"_You're _his little brother!" Misaki asked incredulously. "But you're a half-demon!"

"And what if I am?" Inuyasha snapped.

Misaki smiled and shook her head. "No, don't worry about it. I don't want to sound like all those bastards from the past."

"What do you mean?" Sango asked.

Ekaterina cleared her throat. "I thought you were looking for something," she said.

"Oh, right. Um, we're looking for shards of the Shikon Jewel," Kagome said.

"Ah, the jewel you shattered," Ekaterina said and turned to Shippo. "You don't have to sit there with your stomach growling. Go ahead with Misaki and get something to eat."

Shippo stood up and walked over to Misaki shyly. Misaki smiled at him and stood up.

"Let's go," she said. "I'll get you something yummy."

Shippo stared up at Misaki. She was so tall! He felt like maybe she could squish him if she wanted to.

Sensing Shippo's dilemma, Misaki bent down and scooped him up in her arms.

"Don't worry. I won't hurt you. Now, let's go!"

With that, Misaki left with Shippo. Ekaterina turned her gaze back to Kagome.

"I'll need some time to meditate on your request. Meanwhile, why don't you stay here?"

"Oh, you don't have to do that!" Kagome said.

Inuyasha jabbed her in the ribs. "You really wanna camp outside?" he hissed in her ear.

Kagome turned red with embarrassment. "Oh, right. It's freezing outside."

"Then it's settled." Ekaterina stood up. "Inuyasha-san, Kagome-san, Sango-san, and Miroku-san, welcome to my humble home. I hope you'll enjoy your stay."

Sango's eyes widened suddenly. How did she know all their names? When had they told her?

Ekaterina smiled at Sango. "I saw all of you coming. That's how I know your names. I'm not clairvoyant for nothing."

_Now I shall start talking about utter blahness. Actually, I'm gonna talk about Misaki. More of her history will be revealed later on. I modeled her after my friends Fujiko-chan and Kaiko-chan. They both love Sesshomaru and Kaiko-chan wanted me to write a fanfic with her and Sesshomaru (I have no idea why she wouldn't do it herself). Misaki gets sleepy sometimes, is a nimble fighter, has extremely good eyesight and hearing, is a bit hardheaded, but an all-around good person (you know, for a demon). If someone makes her made, she finds a way to hurt them and doesn't like it when people talk about her behind her back. _

_By the way, since I did a report on geishas once, I know how to describe a kimono using the correct terms. A furisode kimono (one with long sleeves) is worn by unmarried girls. A tomesode kimono (one with short sleeves) is worn by a married woman. The obi is the long sash. However, these are very formal kimono and aren't usually worn every day. I made Misaki and Ekaterina wear them because . . . well, I just felt like it. _


	3. Illusion in the Darkness

Misaki placed her palm over her mouth and yawned.

"I'm so sleepy," she mumbled as she sat up, "but I don't think I can sleep."

Misaki slid the door open and stepped outside, shivering. She walked down the walkway quietly because she knew that the rooms were occupied with the guests. The "idiots seeking the Shikon Jewel" Ekaterina had called them. But why? So they were looking for some jewel. Pointless as it sounded to Misaki, it didn't seem right to call them idiots.

Misaki yawned again and blinked away the tears produced by the yawn. She stopped walking and sat down on the walkway.

"I never knew Sesshomaru had a little brother," she said to herself, hugging her legs to her chest. "He must've been born after . . . after Sesshomaru disappeared. And since Inuyasha seems to know him, he must still be around."

Sighing, Misaki rested her head on her knees and stared at the end of the dark walkway. Her eyelids started to grow heavy. She was about to fall asleep, but heard footsteps in the distance coming towards her. She instantly stood up and turned.

"Who's there?" she asked.

"Oh, it's just me," a voice responded.

Misaki blinked and saw Kagome walking towards her. She wore an outfit that Misaki had never seen before. Of course, the green and white outfit she had been wearing before had also been a mystery to Misaki. Where had the girl gotten such strange---and revealing---clothing?

"Kagome? What are you doing out here at night?"

During dinner, everyone had been given the opportunity to introduce themselves properly. Kagome had asked that Misaki just call her and everyone else by their names. This suited Misaki well. She didn't really like honorifics.

"Just walking around and trying to get some sleep," Kagome said with a smile.

Misaki smiled. "I see we both had the same idea." She sighed and leaned against one of the support beams. "Kagome, is it true that you know Sesshomaru?"

"Yeah, I do. We've had some . . . uh, run-ins with him."

"So he's alive?" Misaki asked softly.

Kagome nodded. Misaki bowed her head and her straight hair fell forward, covering her face.

"I thought I'd lost him," she whispered. "That day . . ."

Kagome walked over to Misaki. "I hope you don't mind me asking, but how did you meet him?"

Misaki looked up with a smile. "When we were really little, we just happened to bump into each other. We had so much fun together, until my parents or his caught us." Her smile faded as she glared at her thoughts and clenched her hand. "Those bastards. I hated them so much. My family controlled the eastern domain and Sesshomaru's family controlled the western, so they thought we were a threat to each other and forbid us from playing together." She heaved a weary sigh and let her head fall back on the support beam. "I wonder how he's doing."

"You haven't seen him since you were young?" Kagome asked.

Misaki shook her head miserably and closed her eyes. Suddenly, they popped open and she jumped over the walkway and onto the snow.

"Come out!" she shouted.

A misty shape suddenly appeared and started walking towards Misaki. As it came closer, Misaki gasped. A child with long, white hair and yellow eyes was coming towards her. She knew who this child was.

"Sesshi . . . kichi?"

* * *

Inuyasha's ears tweaked. A loud rumbling sound woke him up. He stood up, grabbed the Tetsusaiga, slid open the door, and ran down the walkway until he saw Kagome.

"Kagome! What's going on?" he asked.

"That!" Kagome said and pointed at something murky in the distance.

Inuyasha turned and saw a strange, dark mist whirling around Misaki.

"What's she doing?" Inuyasha asked.

"I don't know, she just suddenly jumped over, but---"

Sango and Miroku ran over as well and joined them.

"What is that?" Sango asked.

"It's some sort of foul spirit," Miroku said. "Misaki, get away from it!"

Misaki don't move away from it. If anything, she moved closer towards it. She didn't see the mist around her. All she saw was the Sesshomaru from her childhood, smiling at her and imploring her to come with him.

"Let's play, Misakichi!"

Misaki nodded and smiled. "Yes, let's!"

"Misaki!" Kagome shouted and jumped over the rail of the walkway.

Inuyasha jumped as well and followed Kagome as she ran towards Misaki.

Kagome grabbed Misaki by the shoulder.

"Misaki!" she said again.

Misaki turned to her with blank eyes. She stared at her for a moment than faced the front again. "Sesshikichi, who's that?"

Sesshomaru frowned at Kagome and took Misaki's hand. "Don't bother with her. She's a meanie and won't let us play together. Come on, Misakichi, let's get away from her."

"We'll get away from all the meanies, won't we, Sesshikichi?" Misaki asked with a smile.

Sesshomaru nodded. "Yes, now let's go."

Misaki was about to follow Sesshomaru, but Kagome grabbed her arm.

The cat demon gasped and turned around.

"Leggo!" she shouted. "I want to play with Sesshikichi!"

Kagome's eyes widened for a moment and she turned to Inuyasha. "I think she's talking about Sesshomaru!"

Inuyasha's brow creased with confusion. He didn't smell Sesshomaru at all. "But how---?"

"Inuyasha, Kagome, you have to get away from there, now!" Miroku called. "The mist is making you disappear!"

Startled, Kagome realized that she could see through Misaki and through Inuyasha. She looked down at her hand and gasped when she saw the snow on the ground through it.

A wave of blue light washed over them suddenly. Inuyasha and Kagome turned to see Ekaterina standing on the balcony with Shippo on her shoulder. Ekaterina held a talisman with strange markings on it. The talisman was the one emitting the blue light.

"Ekaterina-sama!" Sango exclaimed, noticing her presence for the first time.

"Calm down, Sango-san," Ekaterina said evenly. "They'll be fine. It's not like this hasn't happened before."

The mist started fading away. Misaki let out a heartbroken cry and stretched her arm forward.

"Sesshikichi! Sesshikichi!" she cried as tears began to run down her face. "Stay here! Please!"

The mist faded entirely. Kagome let go of Misaki and examined her hand.

"I'm solid again!" she exclaimed.

Inuyasha turned to Misaki. "What the hell was that all about?"

Misaki stared at the snow. "He disappeared. Like last time . . ."

Kagome looked up. "What do you mean?"

Misaki didn't answer. Instead, her eyes closed and she fell on the white snow.

"Misaki!"

"Don't worry about her," Ekaterina said and leaned against a support beam. "She's fine. This happens about every week, so it's normal." She turned to Shippo and patted his head. "Thanks for being the only one with enough sense to alert me, Shippo-chan."

Inuyasha put one of Misaki's arms on his shoulder and grabbed her around the waist. Kagome did the same and they started walking back towards the walkway.

"I don't think it's 'normal' for some weird mist to come out of nowhere," he said with a scowl.

"Well, that part's not normal," Ekaterina admitted, "but I've gotten used to it.

Miroku turned to Ekaterina. "What was that? I've never seen or heard anything like this mist."

"I don't know what it's called here, but from where I come form it's a Quitirong. It comes from the words that mean 'to cry out' and 'to long for'. It creates an illusion to a person. If said person believes the illusion, they will disappear completely. Just another of the strange things here in Awayuki Forest."

"You're not from around here, Ekaterina-sama?" Sango asked.

Ekaterina raised her eyebrows as if to say, "My, aren't you dumb?". "Of course not. With a name like this, do you think I was from around here? Let's all go back to bed now."

_Wow, it seems like every fanfic I write gets suckier and suckier (that's probably not even a word ;). Thanks for reviewing again, TheDisruptiveOne-san! Reviews are one of the few things that keep my going. _


	4. A Shard is Found

Misaki walked down the walkway, cheerily calling out, "Kagome! Sango! Shippo! Kilala! Inuyasha! Miroku!", as she passed each room.

The doors slid open and they walked out, yawning.

"What is it, Misaki?" Kagome asked as she rubbed her eyes.

Misaki, already dressed in a bright green furisode kimono with yellow flower petals, clapped her hands and smiled. "Ekaterina-san wants to see you. She says she's found a shard nearby."

Sango's eyes widened. "Already?" she asked with surprise.

"Of course!" Misaki exclaimed and pumped her fist in the air. "Ekaterina-san's the best! She'll found anything for anyone. Now, let's go!"

Something about Misaki seemed a little too happy this morning, but everyone ignored that and followed her to another room down the walkway.

"Ekaterina-san's in here," Misaki said. She bent down and asked Shippo and Kilala, "Would you two like to get something to eat now?"

Shippo eagerly nodded. Misaki picked them up and started walking towards the kitchen.

"Don't worry, I'll have your food prepared by the time you finish your meeting!" she called back to the foursome whose stomachs were rumbling.

As soon as he was sure Misaki was out of hearing distance, Inuyasha asked, "What's with her this morning?"

"She's just happy because she saw her friend, even if it was an illusion," Ekaterina said.

Inuyasha let out a cry of surprise and jumped slightly to the side when he realized Ekaterina was standing beside him.

"When'd you get here!" he asked.

Ekaterina shrugged. "I've been here. Now come inside. It's much too cold outside."

The followed Ekaterina into the room. The room was mostly dark, especially with the door closed, and the only sources of light were the two oil candles burning in the middle of the room. The room contained almost nothing, except a prayer altar with five memorial tablets on it. There were names of people written on the tablets in a language so strange that no one, not even Kagome, could figure out what the letters said. One thing was certain, though: five of Ekaterina's relatives were dead.

"Please, sit," she said.

Everyone sat in a horizontal row across from the altar. Ekaterina sat in front of them.

"Misaki said you found a shard," Kagome started out.

"Where is it?" Inuyasha demanded.

"Calm down," Ekaterina said. "Yes, I have found a shard and the one who has it will soon be coming here."

"Does a human or demon posses it?" Miroku asked.

"Neither."

"What do you mean?" Inuyasha asked, scowling a little. "If it's not a human or a demon, then what is it?"

"Well, she used to be human, so let's all go with that. However, she's not a demon, either. There is still a human soul somewhere inside her."

"So it's a woman?" Sango asked.

Ekaterina nodded and closed her eyes. "It is a young woman in her early twenties actually. She is somewhat taller than Kagome-san, fair-haired, and with strange eyes. Green sometimes, but other times brown. This woman is not from this world. She was brought here by a mistake as a child."

"She's fair-haired and with eyes that are both brown and green?" Kagome asked with surprise. "I've never seen fair hair on anyone besides a demon." Noticing Ekaterina's scowl, Kagome quickly added, "Oh, and you, Ekaterina-sama!"

Ekaterina smiled. "Don't worry about it, Kagome-san. One of my daughters was the same way as you." Ekaterina turned slightly to face the altar. "She's a bit like you, eh, Penelope?"

The flame of one of the oil lamps flickered a little when Ekaterina said that name. Ekaterina sighed and turned back to the foursome.

"This woman won't be here for quite a while, though. Why don't we go to find some eggplants?"

"In case you haven't notices, it's freezing outside," Inuyasha snapped. "Besides, it's not eggplant season and I'm starving!"

Ekaterina smiled secretly. "Oh, it's most definitely eggplant season," she said and stood up. "Come along. We'll be back by the time Misaki's done cooking."

The foursome stood up and reluctantly followed Ekaterina out into the cold.

* * *

"What should I cook for breakfast, you two?" Misaki asked as she tied back the long sleeves of her kimono.

"I want pork buns!" Shippo said.

Misaki laughed. "I'll make those for dinner, okay? They're not really a breakfast food, and Ekaterina-san doesn't like them that much anyway. She'll be mad if she sees them at the breakfast table." Seeing the look of disappointment on Shippo's face, Misaki bent down and whispered in his ear, "I'll make a tiny one for you right now, okay?"

Shippo brightened. "You mean it!"

Misaki nodded. "Yes. I'll make one for Kilala as well so she won't feel left out." Kilala purred as Misaki petted her. The cat demon held a finger against her lips, winked, and whispered, "It'll be our little secret, understand?"

Shippo nodded. "My lips are sealed!"

Suddenly, the kitchen grew very hot. In the center, a small flame appeared out of seemingly nowhere and grew large. The flames disappeared and a young woman with short, pale hair and brown eyes appeared.

Misaki's brow creased with confusion. _I don't sense demonic nor human aura from this woman. Who is she?" _

_And now for a little background history on these fanfics (this will seem strange if this is the first time you've read one of my fanfics). When I started Kesenai Tsumi, I was thinking, "Okay, this is gonna have a super-duper happy ending!" Of course, it didn't quite work out that way. Thinking about a sequel, I started writing Motherland. I thought, "Okay, it'll be a mix of DNAngel and FMA and that'll be it." Obviously, that didn't pan out wither because I Will is here. I'm not going to actually use the lyrics here, but if you know what the song talks about, you'll see why I decided to use its name. _


	5. Fair Haired One

Misaki stared at the woman. She was dressed in a simple black, sleeveless dress that had a white hemline. Misaki had never seen such an outfit before.

_She and Kagome must have the same seamstress, _the cat demon mussed.

"Are you Misaki?" the woman asked.

"Yes."

The woman smiled and clapped her hands. "Good."

Misaki gasped as a stream of fire shot out of her hands. She grabbed Shippo and Kilala and managed to jump out of the way just in time. The fire hit the wooden wall and fizzled out.

"What the---the wood didn't burn?" Misaki asked as she landed safely near the door.

Shippo clung to Misaki. "What is she? She's not a demon."

Misaki frowned. "No, you're right. This person isn't a demon, but she doesn't seem to be human either."

The young woman turned to Misaki.

"Your name means 'beautiful bloom'," she stated matter-of-factly. "A name that your parents gave you in hopes that you would blossom into a beautiful warrior." She clapped her hands rapidly. "My name is Kaiein." Her hands started glowing "It means 'to burn'!"

Misaki dashed out of the kitchen, jumped over the walkway, and fell on her back on the snow. The fire barely missed her, but it singed the edges of the furisode sleeves.

Misaki swore under her breath and ran towards the room where Ekaterina and the others were. She put down Shippo and Kilala, saying, "If she comes, hide under the walkway. The way I see it, her fire doesn't burn wood."

"But---!"

"Don't argue with me. Not now."

Shippo nodded and Kilala meowed in agreement. Misaki jumped over the walkway and slid open the door.

"Ekaterina-san!" she called, running inside.

The room was dark and empty. Ekaterina must've gone out with the others because even the oil lamps were out.

"Dammit all to hell!" Misaki cursed. "Where'd they go?"

"Looking for someone?"

Misaki turned and saw Kaiein standing right in front of her.

_I didn't even hear her! _"What do you want?" Misaki asked, taking a few steps back.

Kaiein grinned. "Why, you of course. Loathe wants you because you know where the Well is."

"There are very few wells in this forest and are pretty much useless during the wintertime."

"No, the well I'm talking about doesn't have water. It has those who have crossed over. The well I'm talking about was the one you pushed your friend into all those years ago."

Misaki's heart skipped a beat and her face drained of color.

"I know no such well," she said, trying to calm herself. "What are you? Your fire didn't burn the wooden wall, but it did burn my sleeves."

"Nice observation. My fire burns what I want it to burn. It's a nice trick that the Shinchu family had stored in their little archive of forbidden magic."

Kaiein was about to clap her hands again, but Misaki swiftly caught them with one hand and pulled out a wakizashi out of her sleeve.

"You know something about Sesshomaru, don't you?" she asked, pointing the sword at Kaiein's neck. "He would never have told anyone about that incident and the only person I've told is Ekaterina-san. Now, answer me!"

Kaiein stared at the blade, her eyes slowly fading from brown to green. "Okay, okay! I'll tell you, but let go of me. Your nails are digging into me skin."

Misaki tightened her grip on Kaiein's wrists. "I'm not stupid. As soon as I let go, you'll turn this place into a funeral pyre."

"Smart, aren't you?"

Misaki hear footsteps behind her. She let go of Kaiein and turned around in time to see the sharp glint of a sword heading towards her.

* * *

Shippo heard a loud yowl coming from inside the house.

"That was Misaki!" he exclaimed. "We have to go in and help her."

Kilala meowed and shook her head.

"Huh? Why not?" Shippo asked.

Kilala meowed again and Shippo sighed.

"Let's go find Inuyasha," he said reluctantly.

They walked out from beneath the walkway. Fire engulfed Kilala and she transformed into her larger self. Shippo climbed onto her back and away they flew. They flew over the dead trees in the Awayuki Forest and spotted them in a snowy field.

"Inuyasha! Everybody!" Shippo called as Kilala landed on the ground.

"What's the matter, Shippo?" Kagome asked.

"It's Misaki! There's this strange woman with really light hair trying to hurt her!"

Miroku turned to Ekaterina. "I believe your prediction has come true."

Ekaterina frowned. "Let's not go there just yet," she said firmly. "Let Misaki take care of it."

"What the hell are you saying, old lady?" Inuyasha demanded.

Ekaterina glared at Inuyasha. "You're not worried about her, just the shard. Don't worry about it and stay here."

Inuyasha scoffed. "Feh! Like I'm gonna listen to you."

Ekaterina clapped her hands and a blue light engulfed them all.

"Stay," she commanded.

Miroku stared at Ekaterina and saw her eyes suddenly turn bright blue. He suddenly felt a different aura coming from her. It was no longer a human aura, but it wasn't a demonic one either.

_What is this woman?_

* * *

Kaiein scowled. "Who the hell are you?" she asked. "You're not the Zashiki-Warashi of this house, are you? Then again, if you were, you would've hurt me, not her."

The teenage boy who had stabbed Misaki turned to Kaiein and shook his head. His longish hair was the color of corn silk and his eyes were sky blue. He was clothed in a white kimono with pale blue hakama. The sheath of his sword was tied to his waist.

"No," he said softly. "I am a Seraph, not a Zashiki-Warashi. The Zashiki-Warashi of this home left long ago. My name is Humility."

Kaiein put her hands on her hips. "Nice name, pretty boy, but this neko-chan is mine."

"Why are all you freaks coming here all of a sudden!"

Startled, Humility and Kaiein turned to Misaki, who had been huddled on the ground. She slowly rose to her knees, clutching the stomach wound Humility had caused, and then stood up on wobbly legs.

"Well, answer me!" she shouted, glaring at them.

Misaki's eyes grew wide as blood spurted out of her wound and a bit trickled down her chin. She doubled over in pain.

"You shouldn't be moving like that," Humility said in his soft voice. "The more aggravated you become, the more serious your wound becomes."

"Gee, thanks for the warning," Misaki mumbled sarcastically.

"I apologize for catching you off guard."

Kaiein let out a loud cackle. "This is a first. I've never seen somebody actually apologize to their enemy." She placed a hand on her cheek and said in an annoyingly syrupy voice, "It's so sweet!"

Humility glared at Kaiein. "Why are you here? What do you want with this girl?"

Kaiein scoffed and placed her hands on her hips again. "I don't want her, but Loathe does. Being a Seraph or whatever, you should know who Loathe is."

Humility nodded. "I have had the bad luck of meeting Loathe."

Misaki sank to her knees and listened closely. _Loathe? Humility? Kaiein? Who are these freaks? _

"Yeah, it must've sucked. So, why you here, Diligence?"

Humility took a slip of paper out of the fold of his kimono and held it out to Kaiein.

"Loathe asked me to give you this."

Kaiein rudely snatched the paper and read it.

"Oh, geez!" she groaned. "First, the brat wants me to find neko-chan there, now it's this wan-chan. I should be getting paid for this."

"Don't complain to me. You chose to work with Loathe."

Kaiein sighed. "True. Well, see ya later, neko-chan," she said to Misaki and disappeared in a burst of flames.

Humility walked over to Misaki and grabbed her by the shoulders, lifting her up off the floor.

"I apologize for harming you, but if you had attacked her, you would've died."

Misaki scowled. "What makes you say that?"

"That being has no blood in her body, only hot oil. If you had stabbed her, the oil would've splattered on you and burned you alive. Kaiein can't be hurt by brute force alone."

Misaki tore herself away from Humility's grasp. "I bet you're working with her, aren't you?"

Humility shook his head. "Seraphim don't deal with those that ally themselves with Homunculi," he said in a hard voice and disappeared before Misaki's eyes.

* * *

Ekaterina's eyes returned to their normal color and the barrier disappeared. She smiled and said, "All right, let's go back."

The group stared at her distrustfully.

"You're not human," Miroku said after a long silence.

Ekaterina's smile faded. "That's not something we should be discussing right now. We should hurry home. Kagome-san, I get a feeling that those items in your yellow pack will be very useful."

"Is Misaki hurt?" Kagome asked.

Ekaterina nodded. Shippo frowned at her.

"Why'd you put up a barrier? You didn't want us to help Misaki, but why?"

Ekaterina glared at him icily. "Let's go home," she snapped in an end-of-discussion voice.

Ekaterina started walking back towards the house, but Miroku grabbed her hand and stopped her.

"Ekaterina-sama, what is the meaning of this?" he asked. "You said the young woman with the shard wasn't supposed to come yet, but according to Shippo's description, she has already been here. If you knew she was coming today, then why did you ask us to come with you today?"

Instead of giving him a straight answer, Ekaterina simply said, "I don't think you want to talk about this in the cold, so let's go inside."

_Okay, this chapter was rather weird. For all those that don't know it, a Zashiki-Warashi is the guardian of a house. When it leaves, sadness befalls the house. Homunculi is a term all Fullmetal Alchemist fans should know, but for those that don't know Homunculi are artificial beings. If you look up "Seraphim" in the dictionary, you'll get a definition that has something to do with angels. I'll explain about them in some other chapter because the Seraphim here and what they do is something that popped into my crazy brain a few years ago. _


	6. Cannot be Trusted

Clutching her wound, Misaki trudged out of Ekaterina's room.

"I bet she's going to make me make some new tatami mats," she mumbled to herself. "The ones in there are ruined beyond repair."

For a moment, everything seemed to swim in front of Misaki's eyes. The walkway tilted at an unnatural angle and she felt dizzy.

"No way." Misaki leaned against a support beam and slowly sank to the floor. She reached up to wipe the sweat from her brow and noticed her hand and wrist were completely covered with blood. "The wound must be deeper than I thought."

Misaki grabbed the rail of the walkway and stood up.

"Gotta take care of this," she said to herself as she stumbled along to her room. "Can't die from . . . from some wound inflicted by . . . some kid."

Breathing hard, Misaki slid the door to her room open, stepped inside, and closed it. She fumbled around with the obi before it untying it along with the various other sashes used to help the kimono stay in place. The ruined furisode kimono slid off quite easily after that. Misaki stared at the wound. It wasn't clotting well and the blood had stained the white under robe red.

"Damn," Misaki mumbled and pressed the obi against the wound.

She had never had a serious wound like this one and didn't know what to do. Misaki closed her eyes and sighed.

_I'm not gonna die, _she thought. _There's no way. I gotta find him first. Gotta find him and apologize for running away. _

Misaki suddenly heard muffled voices and the sound of many footsteps running.

"There's a trail of blood leading here!" one voice exclaimed and the door slid open.

"Misaki!"

Misaki opened her eyes and saw Shippo sitting across from her with a horrified look on his face.

"Hey, Shippo," she whispered and patted his head with her other hand. "Sorry. Can't cook . . ."

Everything swirled around Misaki for a moment and suddenly Shippo was sideways. Misaki realized she had fallen to the side before everything went dark.

* * *

"Don't look at me like that," Ekaterina said. "The wound wasn't that serious. And Kagome-san is looking after her. She'll be fine."

Seeing that Sango and Miroku wouldn't stop glaring at her anytime soon, Ekaterina sighed.

"What else do you want me to say?" she asked wearily. "I know I misread this whole thing, but it's not like I can turn back time. If I could, I'd still be alive."

Sango looked surprised, but Miroku didn't. He already knew there was something off about the woman.

"Ekaterina-sama, what to does memorial tablets say? Who are those people?" he asked simply.

Ekaterina stood up and pointed to each one as she said their names. "Mikhail, my husband; Penelope, the eldest; Emily, the middle one; Circe, the youngest; and Ekaterina, myself. The spirits of my husband and my three daughters reside here with me."

"Your entire family is dead?" Sango asked.

Ekaterina nodded. "Just like you, Sango-san, I have no kin. Well, not quite. Your younger brother is still around."

Sango stared at her folded hands. She didn't know what to say and only mumbled, "I'm sorry."

"Then you are a spirit, Ekaterina-sama?" Miroku asked.

Ekaterina shook her head. "Not quite. I'm among the living dead, but there's a name for those like myself. We are known as Seraphim."

"'Seraphim'?" Sango asked and turned to Miroku for an explanation.

Miroku merely shrugged. He wasn't familiar with the term.

"This is going to take a very long time, so if you want to do something else, you better get up and do it right now because I will not stop," Ekaterina said as she sat down. "Also, I'm not going to repeat myself, so you better listen carefully."

When neither Sango nor Miroku budged, Ekaterina started with her story.

"There are many types of living things in this world and there are those that are like the living, but posses no souls. These beings are called Homunculi or Seraphim, depending on what name they have. Homunculi are named after the sins of humanity such as envy, lust greed, pride, and sloth. The Seraphim are named after the virtues of humanity such as kindness, chastity, charity, humility, and diligence. Of course, that doesn't mean that they're always kind."

"Which virtue are you named after?" Miroku asked.

Ekaterina laughed. "Surprisingly, I am called Honesty. At the rate I'm going, I may end up turning into a Homunculus myself." Ekaterina stopped laughing. "Now then, Homunculi and Seraphim have different physical traits. Most Homunculi have purple eyes and dark hair, while Seraphim have blue eyes and light hair. There are some exceptions, though. Most of the time, both Seraphim and Homunculi appear human so people don't notice them unless they've done a lot of damage." Ekaterina paused for a moment and then continued. "Both are born when someone does something they shouldn't do. I don't know what it's called here or even if it exists, but it's called alchemy where I'm from. There were rules for alchemy and it was a big part of our world. One of the rules was to never try to create a human using alchemy."

The flames on the oil lamps flickered and one when out at the mention of alchemy.

"The luckiest ones returned to the present world alive and as humans, but with things missing. Some were so cursed that they bleed whenever they try to use alchemy. The beings they create almost always turn out to be Homunculi. Sometimes Seraphim were created and sometimes the human doing the human transmutation became a Seraph himself."

"What factors determine the being that is born?" Sango asked.

"Mostly feelings that the alchemist has within himself at the time of the transmutation. Despite alchemy being a science, it's still a form of art and all art has feelings. If the reason for the transmutation is anger and fear, most likely a Homunculus will be born. Of course, even pure intentions are tainted because alchemy is like that." Ekaterina yawned and stood up. "That's enough alchemy talk today. I'm tired. And, yes, that woman will be back, so don't worry. Except try to keep Misaki indoors when the woman returns. The woman will start talking about Sesshomaru and heaven knows Misaki will follow her to the ends of the Earth to find him."

With that, Ekaterina left the room. Miroku stood up, but Sango didn't. She just stared at the memorial tablets on the altar.

"Sango, aren't you coming?" Miroku asked as he walked towards the door.

"Oh, yes." Sango stood up and walked towards the door. "Miroku, do you think she was telling the truth?"

"The truth about what? The Seraphim and Homunculi truth or---?"

"About her husband and daughters being dead."

Miroku stopped abruptly and stared at her. "Saying that your relatives are dead when they're not is almost always followed by bad luck. Why would she lie about something like that?"

Sango frowned slightly and walked outside. Miroku followed her as they walked down the walkway.

"She didn't seem sad at all," Sango said and her frowned deepened. "It looked as though she didn't care. What kind of person just names off their dead relatives with such ease?"

Miroku put a hand on Sango's shoulder. "If everything she told us is true and she is this being called a Seraph, then she must be older than she looks. She might've gotten over it."

Sango let out a sharp breath and shivered. Whether it was from the cold or everything Ekaterina had told them she wasn't quite sure.

* * *

_"Sesshikichi, wait for me!" Misaki called. _

_Sesshomaru ran even faster and laughed. "You can't catch me, Misakichi! You're the slowest demon in the world and you're doomed to be 'it' forever!" _

_Misaki tripped and fell on the dirt ground. Sesshomaru heard her yowl of pain and turned around. _

_"Misakichi, what happened?" he asked and knelt in front of her. _

_Misaki looked up. "I fell!" she said and burst into tears. _

_"Aw, Misakichi." Sesshomaru tousled her messy blue hair. "You didn't hurt yourself, did you?" _

_Misaki blinked and rubbed her eyes. "No," she mumbled. _

_"So why are you crying? Crying is only for when you get hurt or something bad happens or for when you want something." _

_Misaki sat up. "Have you ever cried, Sesshomaru?" _

_Sesshomaru grinned. "No way! I never cry." _

_"If I go away, will you cry?" _

_Sesshomaru's smile faded and he stared at her with confusion. "Huh? You're not going away, are you?" _

_Misaki stood up and stared down at Sesshomaru. "Maybe I am." _

_"What!" Sesshomaru asked with wide eyes. _

_"I said I'm going away, Sesshikichi. Good-bye." _

_Misaki started walking away, but Sesshomaru grabbed her hand. _

_"I'm not gonna let you go away, Misakichi!" he said. _

_Misaki stuck out her tongue at him and poked him. "You're it, Sesshikichi!" she said with a smile and started running away. _

_"Wh-what?" It took Sesshomaru a few seconds to figure out what had happened. "That was unfair, Misakichi. Someday, I'm really gonna go away and you're gonna be sorry!" _

_"Sesshikichi's a loser, Sesshikichi's a loser!" Misaki sang, completely ignoring his threat. _

_Misaki stopped suddenly when she heard a rumbling sound. The sky turned dark and lightning split the sky. She looked around, but didn't see Sesshomaru anywhere near her. Had she lost him? _

_"Sesshikichi! Sesshikichi!" Misaki trembled and her voice grew higher as she called for him. "If this is your idea of a joke, I'm going to smack you! I swear it!" When threats didn't bring her dog demon friend, Misaki tried begging. "Sesshikichi, please come out! Come on, please! Please . . ." _

_The only response she got was an ear-splitting cracking sound as the sky unleashed its fury and let the rain pour down mercilessly on the young cat demon. Misaki screamed as a tree was struck by lightning and fell down inches away from her. She shrank down into a ball and wrapped her arms around herself. _

_"Sesshikichi," she sobbed. "Sesshikichi . . ." _

_"Misakichi?" a familiar voice asked. _

_Misaki opened her eyes and saw a very wet Sesshomaru standing on the broken tree. He jumped off it and asked, "Did you fall again?" _

_"No, you jerk!" she cried and jumped up. "I thought you went away and left me all alone." Misaki's sobs grow even louder. _

_Sesshomaru wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly. _

_"Aw, Misakichi . . ." _

"Misaki? Misaki, are you awake?"

Misaki opened her eyes. Slowly, colorful blob came into clearer focus. Kagome smiled at her. "Are you feeling better?" she asked.

Misaki realized she was in her room, safe and sound between many blankets. She wasn't in a rainstorm. No, that rainstorm had already occurred.

"A dream," she whispered.

"You had a dream?" Kagome asked.

Misaki nodded and sat up. She winced when she felt a sharp pain in her side. Kagome grabbed her by the shoulders and made her lie down again.

"Careful," she said. "Don't make the wound open up again."

"Kagome, I've gotta find him," Misaki said.

"You mean Sesshomaru, right?" Kagome asked.

Misaki nodded. "Yeah." She smiled and asked, "Do you think he'll remember me?"

Kagome frowned a little. "Misaki, I don't know what Sesshomaru was like when he was a child, but you may be in for a big surprise."

Misaki glared at Kagome. "What do you mean by that?" she asked testily.

Kagome remained quiet for a moment, trying to figure out what was the best way to tell Misaki that her friend was the polar opposite of kind.

"He tries to kill Inuyasha a lot," she said simply.

"Well, I would, too. He's annoying," Misaki said jokingly and laughed.

Kagome frowned a little. "I know Inuyasha isn't the most polite person in the world, but that's not the reason Sesshomaru wants to kill him. Sesshomaru doesn't like Inuyasha because he's a half-demon."

"I see." Misaki sighed. "Kagome, can I tell you something?"

Kagome nodded. "Sure. What is it?"

"When we were little, I let go of him and he fell down a well."

Kagome's eyes widened. "Sesshomaru fell down a well?" Somehow, she couldn't really picture that. Sesshomaru wouldn't be stupid enough to fall down a well, would he? Then Kagome remembered that Sesshomaru had been a child at the time.

"You look surprised." Misaki smiled sadly. "He wasn't exactly clumsy, but he did get himself into scrapes every now and then. We used to play a lot in this very forest. One day, he jumped onto the edge of a well and fell backwards. I tried to pull him up, but . . ." Misaki trialed off and turned to face the wall instead of Kagome. "He fell down and I ran away. I didn't go home because I was afraid that I would find his father there arguing with my parents."

"Why would his dad be arguing with your parents?" Kagome asked softly.

"I'm a cat demon, Kagome, and Sesshomaru is a dog demon. Cats and dogs aren't supposed to be friends. Our families hated each other and us because of our friendship." Misaki clenched her hands into fists and rubbed her eyes. "So I wandered around this forest for a while before Ekaterina-san found me. She's been taking care of me ever since."

A silence enveloped the room as all of this information sunk into Kagome's brain. She knew demons aged differently than humans, so it didn't make sense for Ekaterina to have been taking care of Misaki all those years.

"I'm telling you this because I don't really trust Ekaterina-san," Misaki said in a hushed voice. "She asked me to tell her everything and I did, but she's never told me a lot about herself. All that I know is that she's clairvoyant and lost her husband and three daughters. She also promised me to help me find Sesshomaru, but I've been here for who know how many years and still have no clue as to his whereabouts."

"You really miss him, don't you?" Kagome asked.

"Yes," Misaki answered, her voice breaking a little. "He was my dearest friend and I betrayed him in an instant. I let my fear of that dark well get in the way of helping the only friend I've ever known."

Kagome sighed and smiled. "I'm sure you'll find him and when you do, he'll forgive you."

Kagome stood up and left the room. She knew she had given Misaki false hope. She doubted that Sesshomaru was the type to forgive something like that.

_Poor Misaki. What's going to happen when she actually does meet Sesshomaru? _


	7. Impure Child

In a darker part of the Awayuki Forest stood another house. This one was small but tall. It had three stories and was surrounded by snow. The snow was different here. In other parts of the forest, the snow was pure white and the air around the pure snow smelled clean and fresh. Here, the snow had a grayish hue to it and the area smelled different. It smelled so putrid that anyone who wasn't immune to the fumes immediately fainted and fell into a deep sleep. The sleeping person was cursed with hellish nightmares. That was punishment for stepping into Loathe's private home without being invited.

A young woman called Sumiko stood by the door. She was petite, with short golden curls and eyes the color of honey. Sumiko stared at the snow with a sad look around her eyes. Her lower lip stuck out, indicating she wanted to cry but didn't dare to do so.

_How can she wear such a light dress in this weather? _Kaiein thought to herself as the wind played with the skirt of Sumiko's white gown.

"Hey, Sumiko-chan, how are you today?" Kaiein asked, mainly out of boredom.

Sumiko looked up. "Loathe wants to see you," she mumbled in her sad but sweet voice.

"Yeah, yeah."

A tear rolled down Sumiko's face. Impatiently, she brushed it aside, but to no avail. For every tear she brushed away, three more came to take its place.

"Is that you or your Tamer crying?" Kaiein asked.

Sumiko glared at Kaiein. "Like that's any of your business."

Kaiein sighed. She had heard a softer voice behind Sumiko's, so it must've been the both of them that were crying.

Sumiko actually shared her body with a younger girl. Kaiein had never actually seen the girl, but knew she existed. Loathe had told her that Sumiko was an Angel and Angels, although they had their own forms, always shared a body with a host called a Tamer. They couldn't do much without them.

Kaiein didn't care much for Sumiko. Sumiko had been her Angel a long time ago. They used to be friends, but she no longer felt such a close bond to the Angel that had tried to kill her. She did feel sorry for the girl trapped inside, though.

"Don't screw up next time, Sumiko-chan," she said and walked inside.

Kaiein walked up some dark stairs and into Loathe's room.

"Hey, I'm here," she called out and quietly added to herself, "You annoying little brat."

Loathe looked up at her. She had the appearance of a five-year-old girl, but possessed none of the innocence of a child. Loathe was a thin, pale girl with amethyst eyes and long hair the color of ash. She always wore the same shapeless black dress for some reason.

She motioned for Kaiein to come in. "So Humility delivered my message?" she asked.

Kaiein nodded. "Yeah. What'd you do to him? You threaten him?"

Loathe smirked. "That's none of your business. Now, you know who you're supposed to find next, right?"

"Yeah. The wan-chan, what's-his-face---Oh, Sesshomaru!"

Loathe nodded. "Yes, that's the one."

"What do you want with him anyway?" Kaiein asked. "I mean, shouldn't the neko-chan know where the well is? Why do you need him?"

Loathe smiled and stood up. "Because I had a notion," she said as she walked towards one of the chests in the corner. She bent down, opened it, and took out a small sprig with tiny blue flowers. She turned around and showed it to Kaiein.

"What the hell's that?" Kaiein asked.

"Nemuri. It's a type of reversal plant." Loathe walked over to Kaiein and gently buried the flower in the girl's hair. "You are going to burn this when you encounter Sesshomaru in the Awayuki Forest. He'll be a little lost and you're going to bring him to me."

"Um, I don't think he's going to come so easily," Kaiein said, a little embarrassed.

"That's what the plant is for. It'll make it easy for you to bring him here. You'll have to use force, but it's all right. Even as a child, he was stubborn."

Kaiein wanted to ask more questions, but shut her mouth when she noticed the strange glint in Loathe's eyes and the bizarre smile on her lips. There was no doubt in her mind that the little girl was demented, but Kaiein couldn't very well go against her orders. She didn't want to end up like Sumiko and her friends.

"You can go now," Loathe said. Her smile widened. "Oh, and tell Sana to come in here. She needs to stop all that foolish crying."

Kaiein shivered. Loathe only used Sumiko's other name when something bad was going to happen. Still, she nodded and went back outside. Sumiko was huddled in a miserable ball outside on the porch.

"Loathe wants to see you," she whispered.

Sumiko looked up at her with horrified eyes and let out a horrible wail.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" she screamed and stood up. She ran towards Kaiein and grabbed her, knocking her down.

"Sumiko-chan, get off!" Kaiein ordered.

"Don't make me go to that horrible little girl! Don't, please!" Sumiko begged and buried her face in Kaiein's chest.

Kaiein felt a little sorry for the Angel. She knew that Loathe never called Sumiko in just to chat with her.

"Go with her and deal with it," Kaiein said as gently as possible. "And stop crying. That's the reason she wants to see you."

"If she'd just tell me where she sent Krad I'd stop crying."

Kaiein untangled herself from Sumiko's grasp and stood up.

"Go," she said.

With tears still streaming down her face, a reluctant Sumiko disappeared inside the house. Moments later, Kaiein heard the sound of things breaking and Sumiko crying and screaming.

_It's something you have to deal with if you ever want to see your beloved again, Sumiko-chan. Thank God I don't have to deal with that. I have no one who wants me, so I'll just live out the rest of my days serving this crazy little bitch. _

Kaiein walked away from the house and disappeared into the Awayuki Forest.

* * *

Ekaterina caught sight of Kagome and walked towards her.

"Kagome-san, where is Misaki?" she asked.

"Um, I think she's asleep," Kagome answered. "Why?"

"That girl is coming back."

Just then, a wave of heat washed over them. Kagome and Ekaterina looked towards the side of the walkway and saw a flame in the snowy field growing larger and larger. However, the snow didn't even melt. The flame grew large and suddenly faded. Where the flame had been stood a young, fair-haired woman.

Kagome gasped when she noticed something glowing in the center of the young woman's collar bone. "She's got a Shikon shard!"

"So you're the one that can see the Shikon shards." The woman walked towards Kagome and smiled. "My name is Kaiein and I've come searching for a little somebody."

Just then, Inuyasha came by. He glared at Kaiein and asked, "Who the hell are you?"

"Inuyasha, she's the one Ekaterina-sama was talking about," Kagome whispered.

"Oh, so you're the one that tried to kill Misaki?" Inuyasha unsheathed his Tetsusaiga and pointed it at Kaiein's face.

Kaiein grinned. "I'm not here to hurt anyone as long as you tell me where Sesshomaru is."

_Okay, if you've read Motherland you probably know who Sumiko ( Sana) and Krad are. If you haven't read it, go read it. I'm not good at explaining stuff. Now, about Kaiein. She's nice to those that are her allies, but is usually completely ruthless with others. She'll stoop to most lows to succeed. Sesshomaru is probably going to appear in the next chapter or the chapter after that one. 'Till next time!_


	8. Cherub of Fire

Misaki's eyes popped up and she sat up with a start.

"Misaki, what's the matter?" Shippo asked.

Misaki threw back the covers and stood up. "I heard someone say his name," she said.

"What do you mean?" Shippo asked.

Misaki ran out of the room, ignoring Shippo's calls.

_It was that woman's voice, _she thought to herself. _She's looking for Sesshomaru now. But why?_

Misaki ran until she saw Kaiein and everyone else. Kaiein was standing in the snow and everyone else was on the walkway. They seemed to be arguing and didn't notice Misaki until she had jumped off the walkway and tackled Kaiein.

"What the hell do you want with Sesshomaru!" Misaki demanded, shaking Kaiein by the shoulders. "Answer me!"

Kaiein struggled to get the cat demon off of her. "Look, that's none of your business. Get off!"

"It sure as hell is my business!"

Kaiein smiled. "You must be desperate to find him if you decide to come out wearing nothing but that yukata in this frigid weather."

Inuyasha and Sango jumped over the walkway and ran over to them. Sango grabbed Misaki and pulled her away from Kaiein.

"Let me go, Sango!" Misaki shouted as she struggled to get away from her.

"Misaki, calm down!" Sango urged.

Kaiein grinned. She knew no one here knew where Sesshomaru was. She just wanted to antagonize Misaki.

"Oh, Misaki!" she said in a sing-song voice. "Guess who knows where Sesshomaru is?"

Misaki stopped thrashing momentarily. "Huh?"

"I know where he is," she said.

Misaki wrenched herself free from Sango's hold and grabbed Kaiein by the throat.

"Tell me!" she demanded.

"Misaki, get out of the way!" Kagome shouted.

Misaki moved slightly to the side and saw a glowing arrow pass by her out of the corner of her eye. The arrow seemed to hit Kaiein in the shoulder, but the next second revealed that it had indeed passed through her.

Kagome gasped. "It went right through her!"

"I sense a strange aura from her," Miroku said. "What is she?"

"That's a Cherub," Ekaterina exclaimed. "Ghostlike beings named after elements they wield. Kaiein's true name is Fire."

"Aren't we clever?" Kaiein grinned. "Yes, I am a Cherub. No enchanted arrow will suffice to purify me. Not even brute force will destroy me. The only one that can defeat me is the Cherub Water."

Misaki hit Kaiein in the jaw. "It's not a good idea to announce your weakness like that," she snapped. "Now tell me where Sesshomaru is!"

Kaiein grabbed the front of Misaki's yukata and pulled her close.

"You shouldn't be so hasty," she whispered to her. "Remember what Humility said. You shouldn't aggravate the wound." As soon as she was done speaking, Kaiein pushed Misaki down and stepped on her wound. Misaki screamed with pain and blood flew out of her mouth.

"Get away from her!" Sango shouted and threw her boomerang at the Cherub.

The boomerang managed to knock Kaiein away from Misaki.

"Nice one," Kaiein said after standing up. To Misaki she said, "Don't worry. I'll be back. Then maybe I'll tell you where your precious Sesshomaru is." With that, Kaiein disappeared.

Misaki sat up, breathing hard. "Co-come back!" she called feebly. The snow by her side was tainted with red blood as was the yukata. The cat demon stood up on wobbly legs and tried walking.

Inuyasha ran up to her and grabbed her by the shoulders. "Stupid, stop walking! You're bleeding too much."

Misaki wiped the blood that had dripped out of her mouth. "Don't . . . care. She knows . . . about . . . Sesshomaru . . ." She sank to her knees and grabbed her wound.

Sango knelt beside Misaki. "We've got to take care of you first," she said gently. "Let's go back inside. After you're better, we'll help you look for Sesshomaru."

Reluctantly, Misaki nodded.

_Yeah, I know this chapter sucked, but I've got writer's block. This is the best I could come up with. I'm so sorry! I vowed to finish this fanfic before Christmas and I am going to do that because I never go back on my word. No matter how much it sucks, this fanfic will be done before Christmas._


	9. Message

"This time she really is asleep, correct?" Ekaterina asked.

The foursome sitting across from her nodded. Kilala and Shippo were watching over Misaki. They had been instructed to report to them as quickly as possible if she tried anything that Ekaterina considered stupid.

Ekaterina stood up and paced across the room. "That wound won't heal properly anytime soon. I have to make sure that she doesn't get out again." She scowled. "That stupid girl. How could she go running around like that?"

Kagome frowned. She felt something inside her snap. "You know, if you had just found Sesshomaru for Misaki like she wanted to, none of this would've happened," she snapped.

Ekaterina stopped pacing and stared at Kagome. "What are you talking about?"

"You should know better than anyone how much Misaki misses Sesshomaru, but I doubt you've ever even made the slightest effort to find him."

"I---" Ekaterina started, but Kagome cut her off.

"Do you even know where he is? Have you ever even _tried _looking for him? How can you keep Misaki here for so long promising her that she'll see him soon? That's cruel!"

"Kagome-san, listen to me! I did try searching for him, but I couldn't find him!"

Kagome's eyes widened. "You couldn't?"

"I thought she was supposed to be able to find anything," Inuyasha whispered to Miroku.

"I can track down almost anything, but the ability to track living beings almost always eludes me. Sesshomaru was no exception. And I'm keeping Misaki here for her own protection."

"What do you mean?" Sango asked.

Ekaterina sighed and sat down again. "After Sesshomaru disappeared, his father went looking for him. When he didn't find him, he went to the Eastern Domain with his army and slaughtered most of Misaki's family. I don't know how many are left, but I know that Inu no Taisho blamed them for the disappearance of his son. Anyone who bore the star-shaped mark on their foreheads was doomed to die. He did this until Sesshomaru mysteriously appeared about three hundred years ago."

"So you knew that he returned. But why didn't you tell Misaki?" Miroku asked.

"I was afraid that Inu no Taisho still wanted to kill her." Ekaterina closed her eyes. "You don't know what it's like for a parent to leave her children behind. Any child that I find I vow to protect because I couldn't protect my own."

A heavy silence hung in the air for a while. The flames of the oil lamps flickered and Ekaterina stood up. Silently, she walked out of the room.

"Geez, Kagome!" Inuyasha exclaimed with annoyance. "What got into you?"

Kagome stared at the floor and gripped the hem of her skirt. "She really wants to see him. She's been here for so long . . ."

"So?"

Kagome looked up and gaped at Inuyasha. Inuyasha raised his eyebrow. Kagome looked horror-stricken and surprised.

"What?" he asked. "What is it?"

Kagome closed her mouth and stood up. "You're so clueless," she mumbled and walked out of the room.

_A few weeks later . . ._

"Are you sure you're feeling better today?" Kagome asked.

Misaki smiled and nodded as she slipped on her ice-blue kimono. "My wound feels a lot better. It must've been your magical healing agents that have allowed me to recover in such a short amount of time."

"What are you going to do now?" Sango asked. "You're not really going to go meet that Cherub, are you?"

Misaki paused momentarily. "I have to. She's my only lead. You don't seem to know where Sesshomaru is because he only appears to you every once in a while and Ekaterina-san can't seem to find him."

A couple of days ago, Shippo had found a letter in the snow with Misaki's name on it. Kagome had taken it to Misaki. It turned out to be from Kaiein, saying that she wanted to meet with Misaki soon in the center of the Awayuki Forest. The letter had stated that Kaiein would come every day at around noon and stay for five hours after that. If it hadn't been for both Sango and Kagome, Misaki would've left right then and there.

Misaki finished dressing herself and started braiding her long hair. "I won't let her get away with doing something like that again," she said. "And I'll be fine. The center of the forest isn't very far from here." Misaki turned to them and pressed a finger against her lips. "Don't tell anyone, okay?"

Kagome and Sango glanced at each other, not quite sure as to what to do.

"Promise me, please," Misaki begged.

Reluctantly, the girls nodded.

"But you better come back in one piece, Misaki," Kagome said.

Misaki nodded. "I will," she said and stepped outside.

The center of the Awayuki Forest was slightly strange. It was a circular-shaped clearing with a small well in the middle. Misaki walked towards the well. It was half-covered with snow. If it had been spring, she would've seen her reflection in the dark water that the well carried. Misaki placed her hands on its edge and stared at it.

_He fell in a well like this one, _she thought to herself, frowning a little. _Except that one had nothing but darkness within it. Darkness . . . and those strange creatures that pulled him in._

"Reminiscing, are we?"

Misaki whirled around and saw Kaiein leaning against a tree.

"Tell me," Misaki ordered.

Kaiein sighed and rolled her eyes. "You can never say please, can you? All right, I'll tell you, but you gotta tell me where that special well is."

"I don't know," Misaki said, stubbornly refusing to reveal its location.

Kaiein frowned. "You want to know where Sesshomaru is, right? If so, tell me where that well is."

Misaki glared at her. "It's a few miles from here near an abandoned temple!" she growled. "Now tell me!"

Kaiein smiled. "Good, good. If I was a truly bad person, I wouldn't tell you anything, but I'm feeling generous today. Sesshomaru is actually coming near here. He will be appearing at Ekaterina's house in a few hours."

Hope swelled within Misaki, but she refused to let herself get excited. "How do I know you're telling the truth?"

"You don't." Noticing the look on Misaki's face, Kaiein sighed. "Look, neko-chan. I'm not a really bad person. Sure, I may stoop extreme lows to get what I want and I like messing with people's heads, but I don't like squishing hopes. He is coming, but I've gotta warn you that he's changed from the Sesshomaru you used to know."

A smile slowly spread across Misaki's face. "That doesn't matter. As long as I get to see him again."

Kaiein shrugged. "Your funeral," she said.

Misaki turned and ran all the way back to Ekaterina's house and immediately sensed something.

_It feels . . . familiar, _she thought.

She saw someone with long hair, perhaps even longer than her own, approaching the house.

"Sesshomaru!" she called.

_School starts next week. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! I'll try to update as often as I can, but I can't promise anything (I've learned my lesson. Never make promises I can't keep). I hope I can come up with a half-decent chapter, though. Right now, I've got a horrible headache, so this is the best I could come up with. Ugh, I need an aspirin or something._

_Oh, by the way, Kaiein, Sana, and Loathe are my characters, too. Kinda forget to mention that._


	10. Salty Rains

Sesshomaru turned and saw a female demon. She was panting hard and there was sweat running down her face, which was strange because the weather was icy cold. She was staring at him with an intense look of happiness.

"Who are you?" he asked.

The girl blinked and looked startled. "It's Misaki. Don't you remember?"

Sesshomaru glared at her. Of course he remembered her. How could someone ever forget a traitor?

Sesshomaru and Misaki looked towards the house when they heard the sound of rushing footsteps. First came Ekaterina, then Inuyasha, Kagome, Sango, Miroku, Shippo, and Kilala.

"Sesshomaru!" Ekaterina exclaimed with shock.

The dog demon walked towards the woman. "I was told that my Father left something of his here a while back. Something that was meant for me."

"So it is you? You are his eldest son, correct?"

"Yes."

For a moment, no one spoke. The wind whistled through, gently ruffling their clothes.

"Please wait a minute," Ekaterina said and rushed back inside.

Sesshomaru turned his gaze to Inuyasha. "What are _you _doing here?" he asked.

"That's my line!"

Misaki stood still and watched the half-brothers arguing. She smiled slightly.

_So they are brothers. Now I can tell._

Ekaterina came back and threw something in Sesshomaru's direction. Sesshomaru effortlessly caught it with his left hand.

_Odd. I don't remember him being left-handed. And why is his right sleeve moving like it's empty? _

"I don't know what it's for," Ekaterina admitted, gesturing at the strange object in Sesshomaru's hand. "Is that all?"

Sesshomaru nodded and started walking away. When he passed by Misaki, the cat demon felt a sudden chill pass through her body. She watched Sesshomaru's form shrink smaller and smaller into the distance. She wasn't the only one that was dumbfounded.

"Hey didn't seem to notice Misaki at all," Sango whispered.

"What's going on? You think he'd at least say something to her," Kagome murmured.

After a few tense minutes, Misaki whirled around and started running in the direction that Sesshomaru had left.

"Sesshomaru! Sesshomaru!" she called, dodging stray branches here and there.

Sesshomaru stopped and turned around. "What?" he asked coldly.

Misaki stopped and stared, her eyes round with surprise. _There's something wrong here. He's . . . he's so cold!_

"You . . . do remember me, right?" she asked hesitantly.

The two didn't speak for a moment. Not even the wind dared to whisper anything in their ears. The silence was broken by a knife-like word that stabbed Misaki right in the heart.

"No."

Misaki's heart skipped a few beats. She felt all her hope and happiness just slid out of her and sink into the snow. "What?"

Sesshomaru didn't bother to answer her question. He turned around and started to leave.

"Wait!" Misaki grabbed Sesshomaru's shoulder and whirled him around so he could face her. "It's me! Misakichi! You really don't you remember?"

Sesshomaru glared at her coldly. "Let go."

"No!" Misaki shouted and shook him. "Sesshikichi, please! We haven't seen each other in hundreds of years, but you can't say you've forgotten about me" Tears filled her eyes. "We used to be best friends. Don't you remember?"

Sesshomaru grabbed her hand and dug his nails into her wrist. Misaki let out a yowl and pulled her hand away. She stared at the burned flesh with shock and then turned her gaze back to Sesshomaru.

"You're nothing to me," the dog demon said to in a voice colder than the frigid air whirling around them. Without another word, he turned around and walked away.

Tears streamed down Misaki's face one by one. She tried to speak, but the lump in her throat wouldn't allow her to say a single word. She stood there, her entire body shaking from all the tears that had built up within her being too fast and couldn't escape fast enough.

"W-wa-wait," Misaki whispered and sank to her knees. She stretched out her arm, straining to reach him. She wanted to get up and run after him, but her body remained a trembling mass of flesh and bone that refused to obey. _He's leaving me. He's going to leave me . . . just like last time. _"Sesshikichi! Sesshikichi, please wait!"

Sesshomaru continued walking, not caring for Misaki's pleas.

"SESSHIKICHI!" Misaki screamed in a desperate attempt to get him to stop leaving and walk back toward her.

Sesshomaru paid no heed. He continued walking until he had disappeared from Misaki's gaze.

"No! NO! NO!" she screamed and grabbed her head. "No . . ."

She pounded her fists on the cold snow and sobbed and sobbed. Her entire body shook with the sadness and anger that had built up inside. They were feeding off the fear she had carried her entire life.

_He hates me. I knew I should've stayed, but . . . but I was so scared! If I had been stronger then I would've stayed, but . . . but . . . Oh, Sesshikichi, I'm so sorry!_

* * *

The sky was dark. Several clouds were joining together to form rain clouds. Here and there were little patches of midnight blue sky with tiny stars twinkling. Slowly, the happy stars were being smothered by the dark gray rain clouds.

"Is she back yet?" Shippo asked.

Kagome shook her head. "No. Are you sure it was Sesshomaru she ran after?"

Shippo nodded. "You saw him, didn't you?"

"Perhaps she ran off with him," Miroku suggested.

"But she did run off," Shippo said, confused.

"Shippo, the running off I meant has a different connotation that you'll understand when you're older."

Shippo stared at him curiously. "Huh?"

"You see, if two people run off together, they---OUCH!"

Sango put down her boomerang, glaring at him icily. "You were saying, Miroku?" she asked in a voice that clearly said, "If you want more, keep talking, you perverted monk."

Miroku rubbed the lump on his head and turned to Shippo. "They pick daisies, Shippo."

Shippo made a face. "I get the feeling that if you tell me the truth, Sango will beat you to a bloody pulp.

Miroku laughed sheepishly and shrugged.

Kagome noticed that Inuyasha was frowning.

"What's the matter?" she asked him.

"That girl's going to come back in tears," he said simply and walked inside.

Kagome stared at him leaving for a little while and then turned back to face the snow. _He doesn't really believe that, does he? But with Sesshomaru--- _

"Hey, I think that's her!" Shippo exclaimed suddenly.

A figure clad in an ice blue furisode kimono was slowly making its way toward them. As it got closer, the group could clearly see that it was Misaki.

"Hey, Misaki!" Shippo called and ran over to her.

Misaki stopped when Shippo reached her feet. He looked up at her and noticed her eyes were red and there were tears frozen on her face.

"Misaki, are you crying?" Shippo asked, concerned. "Did Sesshomaru make you cry?"

Misaki knelt in front of Shippo and shook her head. "No, he didn't really make me cry," she whispered. Her lower lip started to tremble so she buried her face in her hands and started to sob from sadness . . . and shame.

* * *

"It's not nice to make girls cry."

Sesshomaru stopped. He had sensed that someone had been watching him for a long time.

"Come out."

Kaiein appeared from behind a tree. She sighed with contempt.

_Why me? _she whined in her head.

The stoic expression on Sesshomaru's face changed to mild shock.

"You're---!"

Kaiein grinned. "Wow, you certainly grew a lot since the last time I saw you. Back then, you only reached to, what, my knees?"

Sesshomaru pulled out his Tokijin and aimed it at Kaiein.

"You know that doesn't work," she said calmly. "You tried to stab me back then, but what happened? Your sword passed through me." Kaiein pulled out the Nemuri plant and concentrated on it. In an instant, the little flower burned to a tiny bit of ash and released a purple-colored haze.

"I suggest you not fight it. This isn't a holy place nor is it a normal place. This is the place where people from other worlds come. This is a place for those who have been damned."

_I can't believe how much this chapter sucks! Ahhhh, bad Rioko, bad! Feel free to throw things at me. I know this chapter sucks. _

_By the way, I am fully aware that Sesshomaru is one of the strongest demons out there and he's seemingly immune to a lot of things (Fujiko-chan won't shut up about it). I don't know if he's immune to the powers of the Awayuki Forest (this forest is made up, thought). And a Cherub is more powerful than a demon, by the way. Well, if you don't want to see anything that doesn't go with the series and that'll make you think, "This is so out of character and sucks," then you might want to stop reading now. _


	11. Snow That Doesn't Melt

Sumiko looked up and saw no twinkling stars left in the sky. There was a sudden crack of thunder and lightening before the clouds burst open and it started to hail. Round ice balls the size of Sumiko's thumbnail rained down. The created a strange music of bombardment when they collided with the house.

"How strange," she said softly, watching balls of ice land on her bare toes. "The sky is angry. It's unusually cold and the air feels sad and lonely. I wonder why."

"Come here, stupid brat!"

Sumiko looked up and saw Kaiein roughly pulling little boy by the arm.

"Kaiein, what are you doing with him?" she asked.

"Unhand me now!" the child ordered.

Sumiko stared at him. "This isn't how he's meant to be," she said. "He's supposed to be older."

Even though Sumiko was petite this child was less than half her size. She had to bend down so she and the child could see eye-to-eye.

"I am called Sumiko. What's your name?"

"My name is Sesshomaru," the child answered in a cold voice. "What do you want with me?"

Sumiko smiled a little sadly and tousled Sesshomaru's hair. "You're slowly reverting to the personality you had as a child. I wonder how long they're going to keep you in this state."

Kaiein groaned with exasperation. "Sumiko-chan, don't get used to this kid. We're only keeping him until Loathe decides to get rid of him."

With that, Kaiein tightened her grip on Sesshomaru's arm and pulled him inside. She managed to bring him all the way up to the third floor without much of a struggle.

"Loathe, I got the brat!" Kaiein called as she slid the door open.

Loathe looked up with a smile. "Leave him here," she said.

Kaiein pushed Sesshomaru in and he stumbled into the room, falling to his knees.

"You should listen to your betters," Kaiein snapped and closed the door, nearly breaking it.

Loathe walked over towards Sesshomaru.

"She should treat important packages more carefully, don't you think?" she asked sweetly, reaching out to touch Sesshomaru's head.

Sesshomaru held out his hand. "Dokasso!"

Strands of green energy came out of Sesshomaru's claw and hit several things in the room. It melted a tatami mat and damaged one of the chests on the floor, but it didn't seem to hurt Loathe at all.

"I can't be hurt by any attack, Sesshomaru," Loathe calmly explained. "The only one who can hurt me is Faith and she disappeared a long, long time ago." The young girl cocked her head to one side and stared at him. "I didn't really think Kaiein would bring you here today. Didn't you put up some sort of fight? Or were you too broken up about Misaki to do anything?"

Sesshomaru glared at her. He wanted to fight back so hard, but if this little girl was like Kaiein, he knew it would be useless to even try. It just wasted energy.

"So you're mad because she left you to go down that well?" Loathe stood up and laughed. "You're so stupid! It's your own damn fault for falling in anyway. And then Kaiein got her all excited today and you completely break her heart. I tell ya, it was truly hilarious."

"You're not an incarnation of Naraku. What are you?"

Loathe stopped laughing momentarily. "It's funny how serious you look. And no, I'm not with Naraku. I'm with me; I'm in this for my own selfish reasons. I want to get back at those that put me in this form. In a way, I guess you could say I'm a little like you. I didn't fall down a well, but I was dragged into something I didn't completely comprehend. By the time I realized what was going on, it was too late. Love had left me there." Loathe frowned. "She only got Hope and left me there by myself. The awful bitch! I hate her so much!"

"You seem motivated by revenge," Sesshomaru commented.

Loathe stopped raging and smiled sweetly at the dog demon. "That's why we need to work together," she said and knelt in front of Sesshomaru. "I'll help you get back at Misaki if you help me kill Love, Hope, and all those other Seraphim."

"No. I have no interest in helping you."

Loathe gaped. In some ways, she still possessed the sort of naïveté you'd find in a child her age. She had really believed that Sesshomaru would've agreed to help her because they both seemed to share the same goal.

"But we share the same goals!" she protested, balling her small hands into fists.

"We don't share anything in common, much less goals." Sesshomaru stood up. "My goal is to get the Tetsusaiga from Inuyasha and that's all."

The dog demon turned and reached out to open the sliding door. His fingertip was an inch away from the door when he heard the sound of crackling. He pulled his hand away and, briefly, saw a barrier on the door.

Loathe stood up, laughing, and slid her arms over Sesshomaru's shoulders. "You're going to help me, right?" she whispered in his ear.

* * *

The hail stopped, but there was something else in the air that made Sumiko feel uneasy. She wrapped her arms around herself and shivered.

"What's the matter?" Kaiein asked.

"C-c-cold!" Sumiko whispered, her breath creating tiny puffs of white in the air.

"Well, maybe you should find a different outfit."

Kaiein was wearing a floor-length coat while Sumiko had on the same sheer dress.

"It's not even that cold today," the Cherub continued. "You should've been shivering while the hail was falling."

Sumiko shook her head and her ringlets swung back and forth. "N-no, it's dif-different. A sin-sinister co-cold."

Kaiein looked up and saw a strange black mist whirling around the third floor. She let out an impressed whistle. "The brat's trying real hard to brainwash him."

"Kai-Kaiein, do you th-think it'll wo-work?"  
Kaiein stared down at the shivering Angel. "From the way you're shaking, I doubt it."

Sumiko looked up at her with confusion.

"You told me that you're usually immune to the cold. Whenever you start shivering or something, it means someone's trying to cast a spell of some sort," Kaiein reminded her.

"Oh, yes." Sumiko squatted down on the snow and blew on her red hands. She rubbed them hard and tried to warm up. "A hex. . ."

Kaiein stared up at the third floor and watched the mist slowly fade. A snowflake suddenly appeared. Kaiein held out her hand and the snowflake fell on her palm. Normally, the snowflake would've melted into a tiny puddle, but it didn't. More snowflakes fell on Kaiein's palm, but none of them melted.

_I'm the Cherub of Fire, but the snow doesn't melt. It's a sign of impending doom._

Sumiko noticed the still-frozen snowflakes on Kaiein's palm and gasped. She also knew what that meant.

"How?" the Angel gasped and stood up.

Kaiein shrugged and held out her palm. "Read it."

Sumiko closed her eyes. Wide golden wings popped out of her back. A few of the glistening feathers landed on the white snow. One of them landed on Kaiein's palm below the life line. Clasping her hands, the Angel started whispering clues to the future:

"Memories . . . blood . . . beloved . . . 'beautiful girl' . . . 'strong protector' . . . 'noble' . . . 'hard worker' . . . two types of existence . . . aru . . . iru . . . sacred arrows . . . splitting . . . shattering . . . loss . . . death . . . forbidden . . ."

Before Sumiko could continue, her wings disappeared. Sighing, the Angel unclasped her hands and sank to her knees.

"I couldn't read anymore," she said softly in a sad voice. "It was too murky. Crimson colors danced around indistinguishable voices. I'm very sorry."

Kaiein nodded. "Don't worry about it. It doesn't really matter anyway. The future's been predetermined and nothing can be changed."

The girls stared up that the sky. The snow was still sprinkling down on them. It fell on the cursed forest that had been named for its light snowfall.

_School is a pain this year. The classes are too far apart and we don't get nearly enough time to get to them. Idiots like to make out in the hallway and block the door. And then there's my math class. I detest math! There isn't any word in any language that can accurately describe my feelings about it. I'm not good at it no matter how much I try. Anyway, I think I'll update every Saturday or so. I'm not sure how many chapters this fanfic will be. I don't want it to look like I just rushed into an ending. I guess I'll have to plan it out better. I have a vague idea as to how I want it to end (well, not an "end" end since it's going to be continued), but it doesn't look good enough. Oh, well. I'm sure I'll be able to pull something. _


	12. The Meaning of Caring

"Inuyasha, would you come here, please?" Ekaterina whispered and pulled him into an empty room.

"What?" Inuyasha asked.

"Sesshomaru's been taken by Kaiein."

"Huh?" Inuyasha raised an eyebrow. He was sure he had heard Ekaterina wrong. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm saying your brother was kidnapped," Ekaterina said with mild annoyance. "Do you want me to yell it in your ear or something?

Inuyasha stared at Ekaterina for a moment with a look that clearly said, "What the hell are _you _on?" The idea of Sesshomaru being kidnapped was so ludicrous that it made Inuyasha want to burst out laughing.

"Is this a joke?" he finally asked. "Look, I don't care if Kaiein's got Sesshomaru. Why should I care? That bastard's never done anything for me."

"But he's your brother!"

"So? He never treated me like I was his brother. Besides, we're _half_-brothers," Inuyasha said, emphasizing the word "half".

Ekaterina frowned. "What if I told you he's a child now?"

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Oh, I'm so gonna go rescue him now," he said sarcastically.

Exasperated, Ekaterina grabbed one of Inuyasha ears and pulled.

"OWWWW! What the hell are you doing!" Inuyasha screamed.

"Listen to me!" Ekaterina ordered with a frown. "You're going to find Sesshomaru and you're going to bring him back here. Don't forget that Kaiein still has that Shikon shard. I'm sure you want that."

"Okay, okay, I'll go find Kaiein, but I'm not getting Sesshomaru."

Ekaterina twisted his ear. "You're going to bring back Sesshomaru. Consider it payment for the roof over your head and the food you've been eating. You even get to keep the shard." Ekaterina let go of Inuyasha's ear and folded her arms across her chest. "Now tell me what you're going to do."

Scowling, Inuyasha said, "I'm going to find Kaiein, get the Shikon shard, and bring Sesshomaru here." He sounded like he wanted to throw up by the time he finished speaking.

Pleased, Ekaterina smiled. "Good. You may go back and finish eating."

* * *

"Misaki?" Kagome whispered.

No one responded. Shippo grabbed the door and slid it open as noiselessly as possible. Kagome stepped into the dark room and saw Misaki's tangled blue hair strewn over the pillow. Kagome, Shippo, and Kilala crossed the room and sat beside her.

Kagome grabbed her by the shoulder and gently shook her. "Misaki, you've got to get up and let me look at the wound."

Misaki whimpered and hugged her now-infected wrist to her chest. "Leave me alone."

"Misaki, why won't you get up?" Shippo asked. It made him sad to see the cat demon like that.

"GO AWAY!" Misaki screeched. "LEAVE ME THE HELL ALONE!"

Shippo gasped and huddled beside Misaki. Kilala whimpered and scampered out of the round.

"You can't stay this way forever, Misaki," Kagome said softly. "You won't get anything done."

Misaki sat up. There was no denying the fact that she looked like a mess. Her face was slightly wet and her eyes were red and swollen from the hundreds of tears she had cried. Her yukata was somewhat lopsided and hanging slightly off her shoulder. The tangles in her hair were large and distinguishable.

"He said he doesn't remember me," the cat demon said softly, feeling too drained to put up any sort of fight. She stared at her burnt wrist and felt hot tears welling up in her eyes again.

"Misaki . . ."

Tears slid down Misaki's face. "He hates me so much."

Kagome put her hand on Misaki's shoulder again. "I'd be lying if I said I think he'll forgive you, but you have to hope that he does want to see you."

Misaki let out a harsh laugh and asked tersely, "What's this thing called 'hope'? Wishful thinking, perhaps? All humans say words like 'wish' and 'hope' and for what? Those things don't accomplish anything." Her voice softened a little. "They're just meaningless emotions and words. They can't make dreams come true."

"Didn't you hope that Sesshomaru would show up again? And he did because you believed. It doesn't matter that he seems to hate you. I don't know how close you two were, but if he was your best friend then it must've been a tight bond."

"That's the key word, Kagome. Was. He _was _my best friend. Now . . . now, he's just . . . he's nobody."

Slightly frustrated, Kagome grabbed Misaki by the shoulders and forced her to look at her.

"Listen to me, Misaki! You're just trying to fool yourself right now. I know you still care about him and I know you want to be his friend again."

Misaki stared at Kagome, dumbfounded. "Kagome?"

"Am I right or am I wrong? Do you really want to stay here doing nothing? Or would you rather go look for him?"

"But---!"

"No 'buts'! Misaki, I'm sure he remembers you and I'm sure he wants to be friends with you again. Don't you want to at least hope that he does?"

Misaki bowed her head, letting the tangles cover her face. She stared at the burns on her wrist and felt more tears blur her eyesight. Kagome noticed a tear land on the sleeve and abruptly let go of Misaki. She stared at her for a few second, not quite sure what to do. That speech had literally come out of nowhere and now she didn't know whether she should continue or got out.

"Um, Kagome?" Misaki finally whispered.

"Yeah?" Kagome asked, concerned.

"Can you fix this?" Misaki drew back her sleeve and displayed the burned flesh on her wrist. She pushed back her long bangs and peered at Kagome shyly with a slight smile. "I can't go looking for someone with this type of wound, right?"

Kagome smiled and nodded. "Right!"

She opened the little first-aid box that she had brought with her. She took Misaki's arm and gently dabbed at the wound with an alcohol swab.

Misaki flinched. "Ouch!"

"If you had gotten that wound treated earlier, you wouldn't be hurting now."

Misaki looked up and Kagome turned around. Ekaterina was standing there, smiling slightly.

"Now, are you going to rescue the little dog demon in distress?"

Misaki's eyes widened. "What are you talking about?"

Ekaterina's smile faded. "Kaiein got him."

Without hesitation, Misaki jumped up, pushed Ekaterina aside, and slid the door open. She would've run out if Inuyasha, Miroku, Sango, and the fully-grown Kilala hadn't been blocking the door.

"Outta my way!" Misaki shouted.

Inuyasha sighed and folded his arms. "Look, we're going to help find him, but not now."  
"Why not?"

Sango grabbed Misaki's shoulders, turned her around, and made her walk back towards the pile of blankets. "You're not going anywhere right now. Let Kagome treat the wound and then get some rest."

Misaki sat back down. "But---!"

"Quiet, Misaki-chan!" Ekaterina said sternly as she made Misaki lie down. "You're going to let Kagome-san treat that wound and you're going to sleep so you'll be refreshed when you look for him tomorrow. It's not like he's going to go anywhere. They've shrunk him."

"Shrunk!" Misaki exclaimed shrilly.

"They made him go back to his child form." Calmly, Ekaterina pulled the blankets up to Misaki's chin. "Let Kagome-san fix the wound and then go to sleep. And to make sure you _really_ don't go anywhere, I'll get Miroku-san to put up some barriers."

Misaki scowled at Ekaterina and tried to get up. However, Ekaterina was applying to much pressure to her shoulders so her attempts were all in vain.

"This is completely unfair!" she cried, outraged. "Why are you treating me like a child!"

"I'm treating you like one for two reasons: number one, you still _are _a child and, number two, you insist on _acting_ like a child," Ekaterina responded calmly. She let go of Misaki's shoulders and stood up. "After Kagome-san is done, go to sleep. May the gods help you if you try to leave your room."

With that, everyone but Kagome left the room. Misaki's scowl deepened as soon as the doors closed.

"That old bat," she grumbled. "Who does Ekaterina-san think she is?"

Kagome recalled a few of the past events. Ekaterina had lost her own children and she said she had vowed to protect any stray child that might come her way.

"She cares about you, Misaki," Kagome said softly as she wrapped a bandage around Misaki's wrist.

Misaki's scowl faded and she turned to Kagome, wide-eyed. "What do you mean? How---?"

Now it was Kagome's turn to be surprised. "You thought Ekaterina-san didn't care about you? But hasn't she been taking care of you for a very long time?"

Misaki gazed at the ceiling and tried to recall what had happened on the day she first met Ekaterina.

_Several hundred years ago . . ._

_A very messy Misaki sat, hugging her knees protectively to her chest, beneath a large shade tree. In the springtime, the shade trees of the Awayuki Forest were covered with little flower buds. Every now and then, a few weak buds would fall from the trees and float towards the ground. One landed right in front of Misaki. She stared at it for a moment before tears blurred her eyesight. She rested her forehead on her knees and wept. For days she had been lost in the forest. Her clothes were dirty and torn and her hair had completely escaped from its two odango hair buns. She didn't know what to do._

"_Why, what's the matter, child?" a soft voice asked._

_Misaki looked up and gasped. Ekaterina was sitting right in front of her, her face painted with concern and sympathy. Frantically, Misaki looked for a way out. Ekaterina noticed Misaki's troubled expression and put her hand on Misaki's face. Misaki froze, completely sure that this woman meant to hit her._

"_Oh, you poor dear," Ekaterina murmured as she flicked away a few of Misaki's tears with her thumb. "You're all dirty and sad. Are you hungry?"_

_Hesitantly, Misaki nodded. Ekaterina smiled and stood up._

"_Come along with me and I'll make you something."_

_Misaki blinked a few times and stared at her with such blatant confusion that made Ekaterina laugh._

"_Oh, don't look like that. I'm not going to eat you." Ekaterina stopped laughing. "But maybe you should go and find your parents. They must be looking for you."_

_Misaki shook her head. "No. I can't go back. They'll be very mad because I sneaked out to play with my friend."_

_Ekaterina cocked her head to one side. "And where is your friend?"_

_Misaki's lips trembled and fresh tears slid down her cheeks. "I-I don't know!" she sobbed. _

_Ekaterina sighed. "Don't cry. Maybe I can help you find him."_

_Misaki blinked and her tears stopped momentarily. "You can?"_

"_Yes. I won't ask you anymore questions now. You must be hungry, so come with me and I'll feed you. You may even stay with me until I find your friend."_

_Tentatively, Misaki unwrapped her arms from around her legs and stood up. Ekaterina held out her hand, motioning Misaki to take it, which she did. _

"_What is your name, child?"_

"_Misaki," she answered shyly._

_Ekaterina smiled. "What a pretty name! Mine is Ekaterina."_

"_Ek . . . Eka---?" Misaki started, stumbling over the pronunciation._

"_Don't worry about it so much. You'll get it, but you have to have patience."_

"_Patience?"_

"_Yes, patience, Misaki-chan."_

"She really was kind to me," Misaki whispered to Kagome. "She fed me and gave me clothes. She taught me things and she protected me." The cat demon heaved a weary sigh. "I guess I've been a bit ungrateful to her. After all, she didn't have to keep me there. She could've sent me back to me parents." Misaki yawned and buried herself beneath the covers. "I wonder . . . I wonder what my parents . . . would say . . . if they . . . saw . . . me . . . today . . ."

After a few more minutes, Misaki's breathing became deep and even. Realizing the Misaki was asleep, Kagome gathered her things and silently left the room. She shut the door quietly behind her and sighed.

_Well, I believe I'm already failing a few classes. Yay. Why do people expect so much these days? If I were to keep myself occupied with school and studying, I'd go insane._

_Anyway, I'm still not sure how I'm going to end this. I wonder if I will be able to finish it before Christmas. I wonder if anyone will read the sequel. I wonder why I even care. What I really wonder is what I'm going to get for Christmas. I really wish I'd hurry up and come. I love Christmas! And the fact that it's winter when it takes place is even better. I like snow which is why many scenes in my fanfictions take place in snowy landscapes._


	13. Break the Big Toys

Ekaterina sat before the oil lamps and watched the flames bounce and flicker. Her shadow danced as if possesed by the light.  
"Something terrible's going to happen, isn't it, Penelope?" she asked one of the memorial tablets.  
The Cyrillic-inscribed tablet didn't answer of course. Ekaterina's eyes dropped to her paper. In her hands was a brush. The brush suddenly jerked forward in the direction of the ink stone. Ekaterina let her hand be guided through several different motions. After a minute or so, the brush lost it's brief spark of life an limply fell from Ekaterina's thin hand. Ekaterina gazed at the ink strokes. Most were bold, black, stubborn strokes the nearly criss-crossed the entire page.  
"Overpowerment," Ekaterina murmured and turned her attention to the other brush strokes.  
These strikes were thin and ranged from a pitch black to a whitish gray. They surrounded the bold strokes. Around the entire paper were tiny dots. In the center was one huge blob of ink. Ekaterina bit her lip.  
"Misaki-chan," she said softly. "I don't want you to go tomorrow because something will happen, but I can no longer keep you here like a caged bird." She looked up at the memorial tablets again. "My little girls, why did you do it? Why did you do something so terrible? We died for you, not so you could do something so foolish, but so you could live and be happy"  
A tiny, cool breeze whizzed around the room. It made the oil lamps flicker. Eventually, their flames were extinguished.  
Ekaterina sighed and stood up. "That was a foolish question"  
She walked out of the room and, with surprising agility for a woman her age, jumped onto the roof. Ekaterina took out a few talismans from her kimono fold and read the words written on them with the glow of the moonlight.  
"Someone is going to fall."

* * *

"LET'S GO! LET'S GO"  
Kagome sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Who's screaming?" she mumbled.  
Sango, who had been sleeping beside her, yawned and said, "It must be Misaki." The girls got up and slid open the door. Misaki was marching up and down the walk way, chanting "let's go!", over and over.  
"Shut up, Misaki!" Inuyasha growled from inside one of the rooms.  
Misaki slid open the door to Inuyasha's room and kicked him. "I SAID 'LET'S GO"  
Grumbling and still half-asleep, everyone but Shippo got up and followed Misaki into the warm kitchen. She hurriedly gave each person a bowl of tea and said, "Hurry up and drink! We gotta go get Sesshomaru"  
Miroku sipped a bit of the tea and asked, "Do you have any idea where we should look first"  
Misaki smiled. "Nope"  
Inuyasha smacked down the tea bowl with such force that it nearly broke. The cooling tea sloshed out of the cup and spilled on the table. "You expect us to wander around this forest until we find him"  
"In short, yes. There aren't many places where he can be"  
"What's that mean"  
"Ekaterina-san is sure that he's inside a building and the only buildings in the Awayuki Forest are this house and a rundown temple a couple yards from here." Miroku blinked. "A temple"  
Misaki nodded. "Yes. There used to be hundreds of temples in this forest. People from the continent considered this land very holy and built sacred sites here. According to Ekaterina-san, most of these sites have simply vanished and only two remain. Sesshomaru must be in the other remaining site"  
Inuyasha wrinkled his nose. "Something smells here"  
Misaki smiled sheepishly. "Well, I haven't really gotten around to cleaning those dishes and"  
"Not that." Inuyasha closed his eyes and sniffed the air for a few seconds.  
"What's the matter, Inuyasha?" Kagome asked.  
Inuyasha sniffed for a few more seconds before answering. "There's something weird going on"  
"What do you mean?" Sango asked.  
"Inuyasha's right," Miroku concured. "Something has changed"  
Everyone sat in silence for a few minutes and tried to deduce what this meant. There was an indescribable energy swirling around. It was something that threatened to grow bigger and bigger until it smothered everything in its wake. What was it?  
Misaki stood up. "There's no sense in trying to figure out something when you don't care about it, so let's go"  
"Well, I don't care about Sesshomaru, but I'm going," Inuyasha mumbled.  
Misaki stared down at Inuyasha for a few seconds. "Why don't you care about him? Do you truly hate him"  
Inuyasha scoffed. "That's the most asinine question I've ever heard. Of course I hate him"  
"But why"  
Inuyasha stood up. "Look, quit asking me questions. You wanna go rescue Sesshomaru, then go ahead. I'm just in this for the shard. Now let's go"  
Everyone stood up and silently walked out of the kitchen. Misaki lingered behind and raised her arm. The bluish furisode sleeve with its flurry of pastel pink sakura petals scittled down her arm and revealed the nasty scars Sesshomaru had left on her wrist.  
_Sesshomaru,_ she thought, _that was not you. At that time, I was blinded by my emotions, but now I realize that couldn't have been you. Beneath that cruel exterior beats your gentle and kind heart. No matter what it takes, I will find it._  
"Misaki, are you coming?" Kagome called.  
Misaki dropped her arm and ran out of the kitchen.

* * *

Sumiko walked meekly into Loathe's dark room and sat down. Loathe was leaning against a pile of blankets and tossing a ball back and forth with her hands. She looked so inoccent and childlike that it made Sumiko shudder.  
"You wanted to see me?" she asked as she smoothed her skirt over her folded legs.  
Loathe grinned and nodded. "Yup, yup!" she said gleefully. "Sumiko, I want you to do me a favor. Would you go broke some of my big toys"  
Sumiko cocked her to one side and and raised her golden eyebrows. "What do you mean"  
Loathe pointed at some wooden figurines across the room with her foot. The figurines were carved out of wood in a huminoid shape and had painted faces.  
"See, they're my tiny toys. I want you to find my big toys. And this is what I want you to do to them." Loathe grabbed a few more balls from the little basket beside her and threw each one at a figurine with such tremendous force that wooden figures actually broke apart. "These tiny toys are made of wood, but my bigger toys are made up of blood and guts." Loathe stood up and made her black skirt flare out as she twirled around with delight. "The big toys are gonna spill their red guts all over that ugly clean snow and you're gonna help them, Sumiko. Just imagine all those red, swirly guts on the clean snow. That'll show them who's boss"  
Sumiko gasped and paled a little. She felt the contents of her stomach reeling at the thought of people's insides spilling out of their bodies. Loathe noticed her expression and giggled.  
"Why do you look so sick?" she asked and skipped over to her.  
Sumiko gazed at the ground, ashamed that Loathe had seen the look of terror and revulsion on her face. Loathe reached out and fingered one of Sumiko's short curls.  
"Your hair's so pretty," she said with childish fascination and twirled the golden curl around and around her finger. "It's all curly and springy and gold. It's short and very cute. My hair's all long and boring. It's a very dull color, huh? The color of dead people after they're burned"  
Sumiko sucked in a shuddering breath and said nothing. Loathe let go of her curl and skipped back to her spot.  
"Go break my big toys and tell Kaiein to clean up that mess the tiny toys made," she ordered and started juggling the balls.  
Sumiko nodded, got up, and raced out of the room.

* * *

"Ugh, how much longer?" Inuyasha asked with exasperation. "It smells like crap here"  
They had been walking for about two hours in deep snow and had already noticed that the snow in this particular area differed from the snow they were accostumed to seeing. The more they walked, the grayer the snow became and a foul sench was replacing the fresh air.  
Miroku stopped suddenly. "Something's coming"  
Everyone stopped and gazed around the area. At first, no one saw anything except dead trees and gray snow. Suddenly, something in a bright golden color appeared in front of them. It was revealed that it was actually a pair of wings. The wings opened with a mighty force and sent up more of the foul air swirling in their direction. Everyone held up their arms in front of their faces to shield thmeselves from the stench.  
"You have been invited to this realm," a meloncholy, feminine voice said. "That is why you haven't been affected by the power of this snow"  
Inuyasha opened his eyes and saw a young woman with golden curls. "Who the hell are you?" he demanded.  
A feather from the girl's wings fluttered down and landed on her outstretched palm. "My name to you is Sumiko. I have been sent to destroy you."

_I fear school is sapping my energy. Or maybe this chapter sucks because I suck at writing. Hmm . . ._


End file.
